With
military pomp and traditional rituals, South Africa buried Nelson
Mandela on Sunday, thus marking the end of an exceptional journey for
the prisoner turned President.
Mandela, who died on December 5 at the
age of 95, was laid to rest in his childhood village of Qunu. His
body travelled from Pretoria by air to Mthatha in Eastern Cape province,
and then by road to Qunu .
Present at the private burial were
about 450 members of the Mandela family, political and religious
leaders as well as foreign dignitaries, including Britain’s Prince
Charles, American civil rights activist ,Reverend Jesse Jackson and talk
show host Oprah Winfrey.
Tribal leaders clad in animal skins joined the dignitaries in dark suits at the grave site overlooking the rolling green hills.
As pall-bearers walked toward the site
after a funeral ceremony, three helicopters whizzed past dangling the
national flag. Cannons fired a 21-gun salute and their echoes rang
over the quiet village.
Mandela’s widow, Graca Machel, dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief as she watched the proceedings.
“Yours was truly a long walk to freedom.
Now you have achieved the ultimate freedom in the bosom of God, your
maker,” an officiator at the grave site was quoted by the Cable News Network as saying.
Military pall-bearers gently removed the
South African flag that draped Mandela’s coffin and handed it to
President Jacob Zuma, who gave it to the former President’s family.
At the request of the family, the lowering of the casket was closed to journalists.
• The funeral ceremony
Before the burial, 4,500 family members,
friends and dignitaries attended a state funeral service in a huge domed
tent, its interior draped in black, in a field near Mandela’s
homestead.
Seated on either side of Zuma were Graca Machel, and Mandela’s ex-wife, Winnie.
African National Congress members,
veterans of the fight against apartheid, several African presidents and
business mogul, Richard Branson, were among the guests.
The flag-covered casket was carried in by
military chiefs, with Mandela’s grandson and heir, Mandla, and Zuma
following in their footsteps.
It was then placed on black and white
Nguni cattle skins in front of a crescent of 95 candles, one for each
year of Mandela’s life. A choir sang Nkosi Sikelel’iAfrika or “God Bless
Africa” drifted over the village, a giant picture of Mandela looked
down with a smile. Mourners placed their fists on their chests, some
with tears streaming down their faces.
The Deputy Leader of the ruling ANC ,
Cyril Ramaphosa, who presided over the three-hour ceremony, broadcast
live across the nation and around the world, said, “The person who is
lying here is South Africa’s greatest son.”
Zuma, in his remark, described the
ex-South African leader as a beacon of hope and thanked the Mandela
family for sharing him with the world.
He said, “Today (Sunday) marks the end of
an extraordinary journey that began 95 years ago. It is the end of 95
glorious years of a freedom fighter and a beacon of hope to all those
fighting for a just and equitable world order.
“We shall not say goodbye, for you are not gone. You’ll live forever in our hearts and minds.”
In other major cities, including Johannesburg, crowds watched the funeral at special screenings in stadiums.
• I’ve lost a brother - Mandela’s prison mate
Mourners represented all spheres of
Mandela’s life. There were celebrities, presidents, relatives and former
political prisoners.
“You symbolise today and always will …
qualities of forgiveness and reconciliation,” said a tearful Ahmed
Kathrada, Mandela’s close friend, who served time in prison with him
for defying the apartheid government.
“I’ve lost a brother. My life is in a void, and I don’t know who to turn to,” Kathrada lamented.
Talk show host, Oprah Winfrey; Prince Charles; and business mogul, Richard Branson, were also among the attendees.
PUNCH NG
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